Friday, August 11, 2006

Photo Friday - Four

I wasn't sure what to post for the Photo Friday topic 'four'. The four-spoted footman moth would probably have been ideal.

I rememmeberd that i'd taken a photo of a 7 spot ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata the other day and wondered if i had a photo from the side as often only 4 spots are visible.

The bright red colour warns birds that the ladybird tastes horrible - an anti-camouflage strategy called aposematism used by a lot of insects and some small animals such as poison dart frogs.

Sometimes ladybirds will leak a weird orange smelly liquid from their bodies when they are handled roughly

The name ladybird is said to be from 'Our Lady's Beetle' - since the aphid and pest eating ladybird is a positive help to gardeners and farmers and possibly sent by the 'Virgin Mary" though in earlier times the "Lady" was the fertility Goddess Freya.

Links to supernatural beings is probably why the ladybird is seen as such a lucky insect - especially if the ladybird lands on someone. A ladybird is thought to be able to grant a wish or be a sign of good luck or impending marriage.

Ladybirds are so useful that they are now raised commercially and released to be used as organic pest killers for greenhouses.